Crafty Christmas Decorations

So back when Derek was in Chicago, I was overcome with craftiness! I wanted some kid-inspired Christmas decorations that would last a long time. I came across this idea from an appropriately named blog, Pinterest told me to.... I had to make some tweaks because we needed a canvas big enough for 5 feet and I also really wanted to have a nativity picture in there too! Oh, and I bought glitter paint. I wanted to glitter all the things, but I tried to keep it it simple. 

The tree is made from Jackson's handprints (bottom two rows) and Isabelle's handprints (top three rows). Their thumbprints make the ornaments!

Here are our snowman feet! Left to right: Derek, Jackson, Caroline, Belle, and me! The trickiest part of this project was coming up with the hat and scarf accessories. I am a great copy cat crafty person. But when I need to make up ideas on my own, it stresses me out! Like who should wear what? What paper should I use on who? My sister Laura helped me with my decision making.  I love how it all came together though! 

I kind of winged this picture. It's Caroline's little foot!

Isabelle's hand! I had a really hard time trying to figure out how to make the project completely even between the kiddos. Eventually, I conceded that it just wasn't practical and I wasn't brave enough to try to get a handprint from Caroline. Belle did this picture because she stays awake longer than Jackson at night and I wanted to finish the project. :)

I love having kid projects on my walls and I love that the canvas dresses it up so it's nice enough to be on our family room walls. 

The tree that's on my wall is actually the second one we made. After I made all of the pictures, I texted a pic to my mom and she asked if she could have one. So I brought her the original and we made another. 

One of my favorite bloggers is hosting a Christmas Tour Of Homes and so while I was taking pictures of our handprint project, I thought I'd take a few shots of some of Christmas decorations this year. I love having a tree in front of a window so people can see it when they drive by. We put it in corner for the first time this year and I love the open space in our family room.

A new thing I did this year is that I bought some simple ornaments and hung them in front of the windows and I love the simple touch of Christmas that it adds! I even added some to the kid's room because it's just so simple and fun. 

Here's a shot of another family room wall. That painting on the wall is one I made last year when my sister and I went to a canvas painting party! 

You can see my Willow Tree nativity in the book case in the picture above. I love having nativities throughout the house. We have three in the front room and a magnet set on the fridge. The kids are always rearranging them (except for my nativity-- no little hands allowed!) and I love seeing how they've been set up. 

Like this for example. The angel is "up in heaven" and they wanted Chief (our fish) to see the nativity, too! 

And for added cuteness, here's baby Caroline sharing her excitement for Christmas! :)